


Merry Little Christmas

by awitchbravestheverge



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Being Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Kissing, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Gore, Mild Language, Spider Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:01:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28354374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awitchbravestheverge/pseuds/awitchbravestheverge
Summary: My gift for the holiday gift exchange. My giftee's wishes were 1. Romantic Prinxiety, 2. Spider Virgil, & 3. Platonic Anxceitmus. I've tried to provide all three.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Deceit | Janus Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64
Collections: Sanders Sides 2020 Gift Exchange





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is the Prinxiety, Virgil POV. Happy holidays Thal, I hope you like your gift 😊  
> (Edited to change to the correct name, my sincerest apologies)

It was tradition. Every year since Virgil joined their little fam-ILY, he and Roman spent Christmas Eve watching 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. The movie was one of the first things they had bonded over, and movie nights became their go to bonding activity. Low stress, for Virgil, and plenty of opportunity for Roman to indulge his latest fixation. 

So every year, after eating dinner and opening stockings and listening to Patton read 'The Night Before Christmas' with everyone else, they'd head upstairs to Roman's room. They'd build a pillow fort and put the movie on loop. At this point it was mostly background noise except for the songs. Those they sang together, at least for the first go around. They'd eat snacks and paint each other's nails and hang out until they finally fell asleep.

But this year was different. Because this year was their first Christmas as a couple and Virgil was nervous. It was worse because Roman was planning a _surprise_. He'd kissed Virgil on the forehead after lunch, firmly forbidden him to come peeking, and disappeared into his room. Virgil had been left to anxiously wonder what this surprise entailed and if it would require him to do anything he wasn't prepared for.

Patton noticed his nervous fidgeting. "Hey kiddo, everything okay?"

He smiled at Patton, rolling his eyes a bit. "Yeah, Pat, everything's fine. I'm just being me."

The self deprecation drew a pout from the paternal side. But his eyes were understanding. "You want a distraction? You could come help with dinner."

Virgil hesitated. Janus had also volunteered to help, and despite both of their efforts to repair the relationship, things between the two of them were still a little tense. But fixing dinner together couldn't hurt, probably. And the traditional Christmas Eve dinner was burrito bowls, nothing too complicated, but lots of repetitive prep work. It did sound like the perfect distraction from his nerves.

"Sure, I'd like that."

Patton beamed at him. "Great! C'mon, let's see if we can find you an apron."

"Aww, Pat, do I have to?"

☆☆☆

It _was_ an effective distraction. He and Janus slipped easily back into the way they worked best together, passing utensils and tasks back and forth between each other with mostly nonverbal communication, gestures and half words. Patton supervised and did the complicated cooking bits, keeping up a steady stream of cheerful conversation. By the time they were setting up the topping bar, Virgil had uncoiled entirely.

That might have been why it took him so long to notice that now _Roman_ was stressed. He'd appeared when Patton summoned the rest of the sides for dinner, Remus hot on his heels, mouth running a mile a minute. Roman on the other hand was unusually quiet.

"This looks great." He murmured to Virgil, after he dropped a kiss on his cheek.

Virgil flushed a little under his foundation. "I barely did anything."

Roman grabbed his bowl with a small half smile. "I don't believe that for a minute, love. You work hard at everything you do." He got in line for his toppings, leaving Virgil with a peculiar squirming pride in his chest.

That squirming took on an uneasy turn when Roman barely said anything all throughout dinner. He poked at his food and only ate about a third of it. But he waved Logan off when he asked, "Roman, are you alright?", with a fretful expression.

"Fine, Specs. Just a little tired is all." 

He ignored Logan's skeptical "hmm." in response, and Janus's deliberately pointed look, to continue poking at his food.

When they retired to the living room Virgil kept a close eye on him. He managed to produce sparkling smiles and effusive thanks for each of the little tokens in his stocking, but as soon as the focus was no longer on him the dazzle dropped back into what looked suspiciously like exhaustion.

When they settled in to listen to Patton read, Virgil tucked himself into Roman's side. He silently twinned their fingers together and gave Roman's hand a gentle squeeze, trying to offer comfort. Virgil's own embarrassed blush was worth it for the smile Roman gave him in return. It was the first one that had reached his eyes all night. Something was definitely wrong, Virgil decided. It sent a little fission of fear down his spine. God, hopefully it wasn't something really bad.

As soon as they could get away without being impolite, Virgil dragged Roman directly to his room.

"Alright, spill." He demanded as soon as the door closed.

"What?" Roman squinted at him in confusion.

"You're too quiet. Something's wrong, and you're freaking me out."

Comprehension dawned on Roman's face. "Apologies, my Ghost of Christmas Present." Roman pulled Virgil into an embrace. He smiled, stroking Virgil's bangs out of his face. "Nothing you need to worry your pretty head over."

Virgil flushed again, growling. "Roman don't bullshit me. You're upset." He softened a little at the fretful look that earned him. Reaching up, he cupped Roman's face and searched his eyes. "Hey, tell me?"

Roman sighed heavily. "Remus and I had a… disagreement of sorts."

That pulled a small chuckle from Virgil. "I mean, what else is new? What about?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." Roman wrinkled his nose, looking a little shifty. Virgil arched an eyebrow and Roman blushed lightly. "Really my love, it's not important. I'd rather get on with our evening."

"If you say so, princey." Virgil supposed he could let it go. It was Christmas after all, and he was feeling generous.

"If you'll give me a moment to grab the supplies, we can get set up." Roman said, smiling widely.

That threw Virgil for a loop."Hang on, I thought setting up was what you were doing all day?" That had been the whole reason Roman had bailed on him that morning. "What the hell were you up to if not that?"

Now Roman really did look suspicious, flushing bright red. "Ah, well… you see… There _was_ going to be a different set up, but it didn't exactly… work out."

"What do you mean?" 

"Thats, um, that's actually what the fight was about. I had a surprise in mind and I asked for Remus's help." Roman chuckled bitterly, rolling his eyes. "But he said it was… 'lame and cliche'." A flash of irritation surged through Virgil, Remus could be such an ass sometimes. He opened his mouth to protest before Roman continued, looking unhappy, "… and honestly he's right. It didn't turn out like I was hoping, so we should just forget about it. And do our usual-"

Virgil kissed Roman to stop his babbling. He was well acquainted at this point with Roman's tendency towards insecurity. But the last thing he wanted was for his boyfriend to be insecure with _him_. Pulling back, he smiled at the confusion on Roman's face. "Show me?"

"Virge, I…" Roman floundered, frowning. "...it's really not great. But that's ok! There's always next year." He smiled wide and fake, trying to be convincing.

"Roman, please. Show me." If he let this go, Roman would just get all up in his head about whatever had gone 'wrong' and spiral. Virgil knew what that was like. He wouldn't wish it on his worst enemy.

"Alright. If you insist." With another regretful sigh, Roman tugged him towards the door to the imagination.

☆☆☆

"Well, there you are." 

Roman had brought him to a little theater off the main street in the imagination. Inside was one large screen set in the branches of a dark and twisted oak tree. The theater was set up like a scene from 'Nightmare Before Christmas'. There was a huge mural of the curling hill and the full moon on one wall behind the screen. Fake snow dusted everything, and Jack's skeletal tree sat in one corner. There was a buffet with odd looking snacks like gingerbread zombies and peppermint eyeballs. 

Everything was decorated in a beautiful Tim Burton-esque blend of spooky and whimsical. The perfect melding of Halloween and Christmas. And right in the center was a, frankly huge, red velvet and black chaise. It was piled high with blankets and pillows, the perfect place to snuggle up close and watch a movie.

Virgil had to swallow around a lump in his throat. His vision got a little misty. Roman had done all this for _him_?

Roman must have interpreted his silence as disapproval because he said, in a small voice. "I told you it didn't work out."

Virgil turned to stare at him. "Are you kidding me? Roman this is awesome!"

That earned him a perplexed blink. "You… you don't think it's too… childish?"

"I think it's perfect. This is gonna be the best Christmas Eve ever."

Roman's smile lit up his entire face. "Alright then, let's get it started!"

He gave Virgil the tour of the snacks, and they loaded up a plate to munch on. Then he babbled excitedly about the hd projector he'd gotten Logan to help with as he set it up. Finally, he turned out the lights so that the only illumination were the soft white string lights in the tree branches. 

Virgil watched from the chaise, holding out a hand as Roman came to join him. Roman tried to sit next to him but Virgil was having none of it. The fluttering warmth suffusing him demanded that he get Roman in his arms as soon as possible. Roman squeaked a little as Virgil tugged him down into his lap.

"Hi." Virgil grinned wickedly at him.

Roman bit his lip. "Hello. Isn't this a little awkward for movie watching?" He was perched a bit precariously, blocking Virgil's view of the screen.

"Hmm, maybe." Virgil kissed him softly. "But I want to hold you." 

"Oh. Well, um…" Roman was getting a bit flustered. Virgil felt his grin twitch wider. He really did have the _cutest_ boyfriend. "We could, ah… lay down."

"You're a genius, princey." Virgil flopped sideways, taking Roman with him. He settled on his side, with Roman tucked against his chest, and wound an arm around him to keep them pressed close together. Roman grumbled a little at the manhandling, but the color in his cheeks made it clear how much he enjoyed it.

When they were snuggled down perfectly, Roman blinked at him from just a couple of inches away. "Hello." He said again, in a whisper.

"Hi." Virgil whispered back, and then kissed the tip of his nose, chuckling as Roman went cross-eyed for a moment.

"Now _I_ can't see the movie, you realize."

"Are you complaining?" 

"No, not really."

"Good." Virgil smirked. "Because we have all night to watch the movie, but right now I want to cuddle my insanely talented, super romantic boyfriend. And maybe kiss him a little."

At that Roman whined, ducking his head to hide his face in Virgil's chest. "Virgil!"

"What's the matter, baby? Can't handle compliments?" Virgil teased, pressing kisses into Roman's hair.

Roman peeked up with a half-hearted glare. "Being sappy is _my_ job." His face was beet red and his voice wavered a little.

Virgil took pity on him. "Yeah, it is. But you already put all this together. And I love it." He stroked Roman's cheek, smiling when Roman nuzzled his palm. "Let me show you I appreciate it."

At Roman's nod, he pulled the prince in, kissing him slow and gentle. Roman melted into it, the last of the tension from earlier gone. The kiss went on for a while, and when they pulled apart Virgil kissed Roman's cheeks, his forehead, and both eyelids. "Thank you. Roman, this is great. I love it, almost as much as I love you."

Roman's eyes glistened. "I love you too." He snuggled in impossibly closer, resting their foreheads together. "I'm glad you like it. Merry Christmas, my love."

"Merry Christmas, princey."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this chapter is spider!Virgil and the anxceitmus. Janus POV

Remus was talking to him, but honestly Janus was too tired to process his excited babble about some new experiment he and Logan had set up. Their first Christmas with everyone had been wonderful but exhausting. So he hummed and nodded in what he hoped was the right places, hoping Remus would tire himself out soon so he could _sleep_.

It was kind of sweet to watch him though. He was like this more and more often these days. Eyes bright with mildly demented excitement, words falling all over themselves, bouncing on his toes. Janus gave him a tired but genuine smile, a warm soft feeling settling into his heart.

Which was why the sudden creeping unease took him entirely by surprise. He stiffened glancing around for the source. Remus continued to prattle, not noticing the shift in the air, or more likely unbothered by it. The shadows seemed to skitter at the corner of his vision.

There, in the darkened hallway behind Remus. Six familiar glowing purple eyes peered out of the darkness at him. Virgil crept slowly from the shadows and out along the ceiling on spindly spider legs, pausing just over Remus's head. He winked at Janus, three of those eyes just slightly out of sync, and held a finger up to his lips.

Ah, he wasn't the target then. Janus relaxed a fraction, waiting to see what Virgil would do.

Remus was _still_ chattering away, obliviously. "And then Logan turned on the centrifuge and _it exploded!_ And _I_ said- wha-Hey _holyfuck!_ "

Remus let out a shout as he was yanked into the air and suspended from webbing. He spun slowly in place, feet a little higher than his head. A full rotation brought him face to face with Virgil, who blinked at him with all six spider eyes. "Remus."

"Oh heya Virgil!" Remus grinned at him. "What a nice surprise! What brings you to our dark little corner of the Thomasphere?"

"Asshole squid must go in the punishment web." Virgil intoned deeply. His voice bordered on tempest-tongue. Janus winced a little as it aggravated his growing headache.

Remus barely flinched. "Ooh fun, what'd I do?"

"You know what you did." Virgil hissed. "And now I'm going to leave you up here until you die of boredom."

That did draw a nervous giggle from the creative side. "Not a bad idea, but my head will explode long before then. _Brains everywhere!_ How could I possibly be bored with that to look forward to?"

"You think I'm an idiot? I angled you so your circulatory system will work just fine." Janus grimaced. Boredom was Remus's one true weak spot, and he had no desire to listen to the more chaotic twin's wails if he was stuck without entertainment for more than an hour. Still...

Remus was now pouting, and wiggling a little to test the strength of Virgil's web. A futile gesture really. "Aw, you're no fun. JJ, make him let me down."

Janus bit his lip against a chuckle. He'd been in between Remus and Virgil's squabbles far too often to let himself get dragged into whatever this was. "Do you deserve to be up there?"

"...no?" Came the less than convincing reply

"That's a lie." Janus snorted. "Sorry, I can't help you out of every spot of trouble you get yourself into."

Virgil gave him a grateful look as he skittered down the wall to join him. "C'mon Jay, let's get some snacks and leave this _asshole_ to think about what he's done. I _might_ come back to check on you tomorrow."

Virgil drew his spider legs back into himself with a small shudder as he spoke, flinging the words pointedly at Remus, who began to really squirm. With a jerk of his head, Virgil made his way over to the hallway. 

"Noooooo." Remus's dramatic whine followed them to where they stopped, just out of sight. "I didn't even do anything. Virge? Virgil? Come on, let me down." He was sounding increasingly distressed, and Janus felt a twinge of guilt.

"Just out of curiosity. What did he do?" He murmured, certain Virgil didn't want Remus to know they were still there.

Virgil scowled, voice also low. "He told Roman the surprise he was planning for me wasn't good enough. And he knows me well enough to know that it was actually perfect. So he just did it to be an ass and rile Roman up, on Christmas no less." He didn't really sound angry, mostly just tired and a little amused.

But Janus had to be sure. The relationship between the three of them was still a little strained. It wouldn't do to have them truly torture each other, not if he wanted his family whole again, and he very much did. "Are you really gonna leave him there all day?"

Virgil huffed, letting the last of his spider traits fade with his irritation. "No, I'm just waiting for something."

"Oh?"

"Give it a second." Virgil grinned at him.

Half a beat later Remus groaned loudly and theatrically. "Okay, fine. I'm sorry about Roman, now will you let me go?"

" _I'm_ not the one you need to apologize to." Virgil sauntered back into Remus's field of vision.

"Ugh. Whatever, I'll say sorry to his royal cry-ness." Remus rolled his eyes. He sounded extremely put upon, but Janus got the feeling he was relieved to have the excuse.

Virgil smirked at him. "Not good enough." He said, tone teasing.

Remus gave another deliberately melodramatic sigh. " What do you want from me?" He eyed Virgil upside down. "How about, I won't prank either of you for a month?"

"Make it two and you have a deal." Virgil smiled toothily, eyes bright with laughter.

"Fine." The creative side grumbled. Virgil snapped his fingers to vanish the webbing, and Remus plunged to the ground with a sickening crunch. He stood with a grin, waving a clearly broken arm. "That was fun, Virgy! Nice to see you haven't lost your edge. Hey while you're here, wanna watch Krampus?" The invitation was accompanied by another disgusting noise as Remus popped the bone back into place. Janus shuddered.

Virgil wrinkled his nose, but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Sure, sounds kinda fun. But after you're gonna go apologize to Roman, right?"

"Yeah fine, whatever. Let's go, you too snake-a-licious." Janus stared at them. It had been years since the three of them had watched anything together, just them. A little flutter of happiness started up just under his ribs. For just a moment he was too overcome to speak.

Virgil noticed, and turned that surprisingly soft smile on him. "You coming?"

He swallowed heavily, praying his voice would come out even."Wouldn't miss it."

If it did tremble a little neither of his favorite menaces mentioned it, an uncharacteristic mercy. Feeling bright and warm, his exhaustion vanished, Janus followed his family deeper into the dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There you are. I hope I did your wishes justice and that you Iike the fic 💖🎄❄💖


End file.
